Gas-operated gun



Feb. 10, 1970 J. F. VADAS ET AL GAS OPERATED GUN ,l 8 mm INVENTORSFREDERICK J. BRINDISQ JOHN F. VADAS Filed Dec. 14, 1966 8 I. vm mm mm mm8 8 n N. 9 8 mm 8 mm mm a $8 2 8% New 8 a N GI o 8 d 8 8 8 mm A 3% r Win M B N on ,2: 0' H r/ \r 2 \T\ a I 7V; I f s NN ow mm mm vm R Q g on 3N. 9

United States Patent 3,494,344 GAS-OPERATED GUN John F. Vadas, Webster,and Frederick J. Brindisi, Rochester, N.Y., assignors to Crosman ArmsCompany, Inc., Fairport, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 14,1966, Ser. No. 601,647 Int. Cl. F41b 11/00; F41f 1/04, 7/02 US. Cl.124-11 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The hammer of the gunillustrated is axially bored. Its bore registers at one end with thebore of the gun barrel, and at its other end it communicates with achamber holding gas under pressure. Communication between chamber andhammer bore is normally shut off by a valve. When the trigger isoperated, a spring moves the hammer rectilinearly rearwardly to open thevalve and the gas enters the barrel to propel a projectile therefrom. Ahandle secured to the hammer for recoking it can also be rotated to lockit in safety position.

In gas-operated guns, a valve is employed to govern flow of gas from asupply source for instance a C0 cartridge, to the gun barrel behind theprojectile to propel the projectile from the barrel. Usually the gaschamber is offset from the gun barrel; in some cases parallel thereto;in other cases in the gun stock. When the valve is opened, gas flowsfrom the chamber through a duct to the rear of the projectile. Usually abolt, which is separate from the hammer of the gun, is provided forinserting the projectile into firing position in the barrel. Because ofthe need for separate hammer and bolt, and because of the locations ofthe gas chamber and valve, and the need for duct work connectionsbetween the gas chamber and barrel, these prior gas-operated guns havebeen bulky, heavy and complicated.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved gas-operated gunwhich has a substantially more efficient and compact valving system thanprior guns of this type.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improvedgas-operated gun, which has substantially fewer moving parts than priorguns of this type.

These objects are achieved by employing an axiallybored hammer, whichreciprocates in a sleeve between a normally-closed valve and the rearend of a gun barrel. A pin projects radially from the hammer through anelongate slot in the sleeve, and is manually operable to push the hammeraway from the valve against the resistance of a spring, and into acocked position where it is releasably held by a trigger mechanism. Atubular extension on the forward end of the hammer projects slidablyinto the rear of the barrel, and a like extension on the opposite end ofthe hammer is engageable with the valve to open it temporarily, when thespring-loaded hammer is released from its cocked position, thereby toadmit gas under pressure through the hammer to the rear of a projectilein the gun barrel. When the hammer is cocked, it can be rotated manuallyby its pin until the latter engages in a transverse notch in one end ofthe slot in the sleeve, thereby to hold the hammer in its cockedposition independently of the operation of the trigger mechanism.

Other objects and achievements of the invention will be apparenthereinafter from the specification and from the recital of the appendedclaims, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a gun made inaccordance with one embodiment of this invention, parts of the gun beingcut away and shown in section;

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FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of this gun, parts thereof again beingcut away and shown in section;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 33 in FIG. 1looking in the direction of the arrows, and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view, partly in section, of the hammer employed inthis gun.

Referring now to the drawing by numerals of reference, 10 designates arifle comprising a cylindrical housing or sleeve 12, and a stock 15.Housing 12 is secured by a pair of conventional ring clamps 14 to thestock 15 which terminates at its rear in a conventional butt 16. Theclamps 14 surround opposite ends of the sleeve 12 and are secured tostock 15 in the usual manner by screws 17, and nuts 18.

Secured at its rear end in a pair of spaced ring bearings 21 and 22,which are mounted in the sleeve 12 adjacent the forward end thereof, isthe gun barrel 24. Bearing 22 is secured to the barrel 24 by a screw 26(FIG. 1), which has a shank portion 27 that extends through an openingin the sleeve 12 and threads into the barrel. At its rear end barrel 24has a reduced diameter portion 30, which projects rearwardly beyond thebearing 22, and which is surrounded by one end of a coiled compressionspring 32. At its opposite end spring 32 engages the enlarged, centralportion of an axially bored hammer 34, which is rotatable andreciprocable in sleeve or housing 12. The hammer has reduced diametertubular extensions 35 and 36 that project coaxially from opposite endsthereof. The forward extension 35 projects into the bore in the reduceddiameter portion 30 of barrel 24; and the rear extension 36 extends intothe forward end of a hollow valve block 37, which is secured by a screw38 in the sleeve 12 rearwardly of the hammer.

Mounted to reciprocate in a chamber 39 in the rear end of block 37 is avalve 41. Intermediate its ends valve 41 has a pair of axially spaced,bearing portions 42 which have sliding engagement with the wall ofchamber 39 to guide the valve for reciprocation axially of the hammer34. Each bearing portion 42 is generally rectangular in cross-sectionbut has its corners rounded off as shown in FIG. 3. Secured by a pin 44in an annular recess in the forward end of the valve 41 is an elasticring or seal 45 which is adapted to seat on an annular boss or valveseat 46, which is formed in the block 37 at the front end of its chamber39. Valve 41 is constantly urged toward its closed position, that is, tothe right in FIGSv 1 and 2, by a compression spring 48 (FIG. 2), whichis interposed between the valve 41, and a foraminous filter member 50,which is secured by a ring 51 in the chamber 39 rearwardly of the valve.

A CO cartridge s adapted to supply the power for firing a ball or pelletfrom the gun. Such a cartridge C is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 removablymounted in the sleeve 12 rearwardly of the valve block 37 with itsclosed end seated in a pocket in the rear end of the block. Theopposite, or capped end of cartridge C projects into a recess forward inthe forward end of an insert 53, which is threaded into the formed endof a plug 55. Plug 55 is removably secured in the rear end of the sleeve12 by a ring cap 56, which threads onto the rear end of sleeve 12. Plug55 has a reduced diameter portion 57, which projects slidably through acentral opening formed in the closed end of the cap 56.

Mounted in a central recess in the outer end of plug 55 for limitedreciprocal movement axially of the plug is a plunger 60, which has anenlarged head 59 formed on the outer end thereof. Projecting from theinner end of plunger 60 is a piercing pin 61, which extends slidablythrough registering openings in the plug 55 and the irisert 53 forengagement with the capped end of the cartridge C. Secured in the outerend of the plug 55 rearwardly of the cap 56, and extending through adiametral 3 opening 62 in the plunger 60, is a pin 63. Opening 62 has adiameter substantially larger than that of the pin 63 to permit limitedreciprocation of the plunger 60 in plug 55.

Threaded radially into the hammer 34, and projecting laterally therefromoutwardly through a slot 65 in sleeve 12 is a pin or knob 66. Slot 65 isof right-angular shape as shown in FIG. 1. Knob 66 is operable manuallyto shift hammer 34 forwardly against the resistance of spring 32 fromits released or fired position (FIGS. 1 and 2) to its cocked position inwhich knob 66 may be engaged in the leg 67 of the slot 65 to lock thehammer 34 in cocked position.

Mounted intermediate its ends on a pin 70 to pivot thereabout in anelongate recess 71 in stock 15 is a sear 72. The rear end of sear 72overlies the upper face of a trigger 74, which is pivoted on a pin 75that is secured in the stock rearwardly of pin 70. At its forward endsear 72 has on its upper surface a projection 76, which is adapted toproject through a slot 77 in sleeve 12 into engagement with the rear ofthe enlarged portion of hammer 34. A spring 78 housed in a recess 79 inthe stock 15 engages the underside of the sear 72 at its forward end,and constantly urges the sear in a direction to force its projection 76upwardly through the slot 77.

When the hammer 34 is in its released position (FIGS. 1 and 2),projection 76 is resiliently engaged with the underside of the hammer.When the hammer is advanced to its cocked position by forcing knob 66forwardly, the projection 76 on the sear 72 is urged upwardly throughthe slot 77 and behind the rear end of the hammer 34 releasably to holdthe latter in its cocked position.

Extending diametrally through sleeve 12, the bushing 22, and the barrel24, is a rotatable plug 80, one end of which is shouldered as at 82 tooverlie one side of the bearing 22. Releasably secured to the oppositeend of plug 80 by a screw 84 is an externally knurled collar 85, whichoverlies the opposite side of sleeve 12 to secure theplug 80 againstaxial movement. Mounted in a recess 87 in the barrel 24 to register withradial openings formed in the sleeve 12 and the bearing 22 beneath thecollar 85 is a compression spring 88. Interposed between the spring 88and collar 85 is a ball detent 89, which is engageable in one of twoangularly spaced, semi-spherical dimples or recesses 91 formed in theinside face of the collar. Intermediate its ends plug 8 has a diametralbore 92 equal in diameter to the bore of barrel 24.

Plug 80 is rotatable manually by its collar 85 bet-ween a first positionin which its bore 92 registers with the bore in the barrel 24 (FIGS. 1and 2), and a second position (not illustrated) in which its bore 92registers with registering radial ports 94 and 95 (FIG. formed in thebearing 22 and the sleeve 12, respectively. In each of these twopositions the detent 89 is resiliently urged by spring 88 into one ofthe two dimples formed in the inside face of collar 85.

In use, the cap of the cartridge C is punctured by striking the head 59of the plunger 60 with sufficient force to cause its pointed end 61 topenetrate the cap on the cartridge. This releases gas, which passesalong the outside of the cartridge, through diametrally opposed slots100 formed in the rear end of the block 37, and through the ring 51 andforaminous member 50 into chamber 39. The flats on the shoulders 42permit this gas to pass along the outside of the valve 41 to the forwardend of chamber 39, where it is stopped by seal 45, which is at this timeagainst its seat 46. The gun is loaded by manually rotating the collar85 until the bore 92 in plug 80 registers with the ports 94 and 95. Theprojectile, a ballshaped BB, or a pellet, is dropped through these portsinto the bore 92, after which the collar 85 is rotated to register itsbore 92 with the bore of barrel 24. The knob 66 is then pushed manuallyforwardly and rocked upwardly into the leg or notch 67 of slot 65. Inthis posihe Pr jection 76 on the scar 72, urged upwardly by the spring78, engages the rear end of hammer 34, releasably to secure the latterin its advanced or cocked position. This pivots the rear end of the sear72 downwardly into engagement with the upper face of the trigger 74.When the knob 66 is engaged in locking notch 67, the gun is on safety.This locks the hammer 34 against axial movement, so that even if thetrigger 74 is actuated, the hammer will not be released while it is inthis safety position.

To release the hammer from safety position, the knob 66 is swungmanually downwardly until it is disengaged from the locking notch 67.Then the hammer 35 is held in cocked position solely by the projection76 on the sear 72; and the gun may be fired merely by pulling thetrigger 74, the pivotal movement of which is limited by the pin 97 (FIG.1). This pivots the sear 72 clockwise in FIG. 1 about the pin 70,disengaging projection 76 from the hammer 34. The hammer is then urgedsuddenly rearwardly by spring 32, and the nose 98 (FIG. 4) on its rearend, strikes the pin 44, thereby shifting the valve 41 off its seat 46against the resistance of spring 48'. When the resilient annulus 45 isthus unseated, gas in the chamber 39 is admitted through port 99 (FIG.4) in the hammer in front of nose 98, into the bore of the extension 36,through the bore of the hammer, and against the projectile then disposedin block 80. the gas propels the projectile out of the barrel, and thevalve 41 is re turned by the spring 48 to its closed position, asillustrated in FIG. 1.

When the gas is exhausted therefrom, a cartridge C may be replaced byremoving cap 56, which by engagement with pin 63 withdraws the plug 55from sleeve 12.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the novel gun disclosedherein eliminates the need for employing a separate safety mechanism,which operates directly on trigger. Instead, the novel safety devicedisclosed here is mounted directly on the hammer of the gun, therebyproviding a far more compact and inexpensive gun than was heretoforepossible. In addition, the projectile loading plug disclosed herein isrotatable between loading and firing positions, respectively; and ineach of these positions, a spring loaded detent is engageable with thecollar on the plug to prevent accidental rotation thereof. In addition,the valve which controls the flow of the propellent gas from the supplycartridge to the bore of the gun is operated directly by the hammer 34,thereby providing more compactoperation than prior, like guns.

While the invention has been described in connection with a specificembodiment thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of furthermodification, and this application is intended to cover any variations,uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, theprinciples of the invention and including such departures from thepresent disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the artto which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essentialfeatures hereinbefore set forth, and as fall within the scope of theinvention or the limits of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim 1. A gas-operated guncomprising:

a housing containing a source of gas under pressure,

a barrel secured at its rear end in a bore in said housing coaxiallythereof,

a normally-closed valve in said housing for controlling the flow of gasfrom said source to the rear end of said barrel,

a hammer mounted in said bore in said housing between said valve andsaid barrel for rotation between locked and released positions,respectively, and for axial reciprocation into cocked and firedpositions, respectively, and having therethrough an axial bore, theforward end of which is in fluid com. munication with the rear end ofsaid barrel,

means for loading a projectile into the bore of the barrel adjacent therear end thereof and forwardly of said hammer.

means on said hammer operative to open said valve temporarily, and toadmit gas from said source through the bore in said hammer to the rearof the projectile in said barrel, when said hammer is moved to its firedposition, and

further means on said hammer manually operable from the exterior of saidhousing selectively to rotate said hammer into and out of its lockedposition, when the hammer is in its cocked position.

2. A gas-operated gun as defined in claim 1 including trigger-operatedmeans for releasably holding said hammer in its cocked position, and

said manually operable means including means operable independently ofsaid trigger-operated means for holding said hammer in its cockedposition upon the release thereof by said trigger-operated means,

3. A gas-operated gun as defined in claim 2, wherein said manuallyoperable means comprises a lever secured at one end to said hammer andprojecting therefrom outwardly through an elongate slot in said housing,and manually operable for shifting said hammer axially from its fired toits cocked position, and

said hammer is rotatable by said lever, when the hammer is in its cockedposition, to engage said lever in a transverse notch formed in saidhousing at one end of said slot.

4. A gas-operated gun as defined in claim 3 wherein saidtrigger-operated means comprises a sear pivotally mounted in said framebeneath said housing, and having thereon a projection which extendsthrough a second slot in said housing to engage and hold said hammer inits cocked position, and

said lever, when engaged in said transverse notch is operative toprevent the return of said hammer to its fired position when saidprojection is disengaged from said hammer.

5. A gas-operated gun comprising a housing containing a source of gasunder pressure,

a barrel secured at its rear end in said housing,

means for loading a projectile into the bore of said barrel adjacent therear end thereof,

a normally-closed valve in said housing for controlling the fiow of gasfrom said source to the rear of a projectile in said barrel,

a hammer movable in said housing between said valve and said barrel intococked and released positions, respectively, and having therethrough anaxial bore, one end of which communicates with the rear end of saidbarrel,

means on said hammer operative to open said valve temporarily, and toadmit gas from said source through the bore in said hammer to theprojectile in said barrel, when said hammer is moved to its releasedposition,

said hammer being a cylindrical member mounted for rotation in a bore insaid housing rearwardly of said barrel, and for axial reciprocationcoaxially of said barrel,

a spring interposed between said hammer and said barrel constantly tourge said hammer rearwardly in the last-named bore toward its releasedposition,

trigger-operated means for releasably holding said hammer in its cockedposition,

a lever secured at one end to said hammer, and projecting at itsopposite end through a slot in said housing for shifting said hammermanually to its cocked position,

a hollow valve block secured in said bore in said housing rearwardly ofsaid hammer, and having therein a chamber which communicates at one endwith said source of gas under pressure, and at its opposite end with aport in said block,

said hammer having reduced diameter tubular extensions, which projectfrom opposite ends thereof coaxially of its bore and slidably into saidbarrel and said port, respectively, for conveying gas from said chamberto said barrel bore,

said valve being mounted in said chamber normally to close otf saidchamber from said bore in said block, and engageable by one of saidtubular extensions momentarily to be opened thereby, when said hammermoves from its cocked to its released position,

a plug removably mounted in the bore in said housing remote from saidbarrel, and in axially spaced confronting relation to said block,

a gas cartridge removably mounted in said housing between said plug andsaid block with its capped end confronting said plug,

an axially reciprocable piercing member mounted in a central opening insaid plug, and having a pointed end engageable with the capped end ofsaid cartridge, and

a pin secured in said plug and extending through a diametral opening insaid piercing member, the lastnamed opening having a diameter largerthan said pin to allow limited axial movement of said piercing memberrelative to said plug.

6. A gas-operated gun as defined in claim 5, wherein an annular valveseat is formed on said block in said chamber around said port,

a second spring normally urges said valve against said seat to closesaid port, and

the first-named spring is operative, upon the release of said hammerfrom its cocked position, to urge said one tubular extension intoengagement with said valve with sufficient force to unseat said valvetemporarily from said seat.

7. A gasoperated gun, comprising a housing,

a barrel fixed at its rear end in a bore in said housing coaxiallythereof,

means for loading a projectile into said barrel through a radial portlocated in said barrel adjacent the rear end thereof,

a normally-closed valve mounted in said bore in said housing rearwardlyof said barrel,

a hammer .mounted in said bore in said housing between said valve andsaid barrel for reciprocation axially of said bore between cocked andfired positions, respectively,

a gas cartridge removably mounted in said bore in said housingrearwardly of said valve, and operable to supply gas to said bore,

said hammer having therethrough an axial bore in fluid communicationwith the rear end of said barrel rearwardly of said radial port therein,and

means on said hammer operative to open said valve temporarily, and toadmit gas from said bore in said housing, and through said bore in saidhammer to the projectile in said barrel, when said hammer is moved toits fired position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,233,600 2/1966 Spack 124-11452,882 5/1891 Gifrard 12411 2,225,719 12/1940 Shotton.

2,375,314 5/1945 Mills 12411 2,881,752 4/1959 Blahnik 12411 2,980,0964/1961 Merz 124-40 X 3,204,625 9/1965 Shepherd 124-11 RICHARD C.PINKHAM, Primary Examiner THOMAS ZACK, Assistant Examiner U.S. C1. X.R.

